"Wait outside the door. I still have some matters to attend to." Chen Chao's eyes were deep, and his voice carried no emotion as he said, "The moment I sense your breath leaving my detection range, I will kill you immediately!"
Fang Xiangyu gave a faint bitter smile. This human youth was far too sharp, unlike any other humans she had encountered before. Not only did he possess an unfathomable power, but his intelligence also left her feeling helpless. What made her the most apprehensive was that Chen Chao seemed to understand zombies even better than she, a zombie controller, did!
"I understand," she had no choice but to respond.
Chen Chao left the storage room first, and in an instant, his body disappeared from Fang Xiangyu's sight after the light around him distorted.
...
Chen Chao moved quickly and soon arrived at a luxurious guest room on the second floor of the hotel. There were no guards, and he easily opened the door with the chip sensor lock. Just as he opened the door, a sudden sense of danger hit him, and he instinctively dodged.
Swish!
A sharp, bright throwing knife narrowly missed his shoulder.
Chen Chao reached out and grabbed it, dodging the knife, and when he looked up, his gaze met a pair of familiar, dark eyes. Both of them froze for a moment.
Chen Chao casually toyed with the throwing knife, slipped it into his pocket, and smiled lightly. "I was wondering where my throwing knives went. Looks like you took one."
The person behind the door was none other than Chen Shiyu. She had immediately prepared to ambush when she heard the door unlocking, but she hadn't expected it to be Chen Chao. When she realized it was him, she felt a rush of relief and immediately leapt into his arms. After a few seconds, she quickly pulled away, shocked, and looked at him. "Chao, how did you get here? Were you...?"
Chen Chao lightly tapped her soft nose and said, "I'm here to take you home. What, don't you want to go back?"
"Weren't you captured?" Chen Shiyu quickly realized, and her expression turned anxious. "You need to leave quickly. There are too many of them, and they have guns. You can't beat them alone. I'll stall them for a while. When you get a weapon, come save me."
Chen Chao touched the faint red handprint on her face and gently said, "Don't worry, as long as I'm here, no one can hurt you." His tone was calm, but there was a sense of certainty in it.
Chen Shiyu turned her face away, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Don't touch me like that. I won't talk about this anymore. Do you really have a way to leave? Are you sure?"
She looked up at him seriously.
Chen Chao looked into her eyes, then nodded.
Chen Shiyu took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go. I trust you won't do anything reckless."
Chen Chao took her delicate hand, and they walked along the long corridor, their footsteps muffled on the soft red carpet. Soon, they arrived at the third floor, where they stopped in front of a room with nearly the same layout as the one on the second floor.
Chen Shiyu looked up at him, puzzled, but didn't speak, afraid of alerting anyone in the other rooms. Then she witnessed something extraordinary. Her little brother, whom she had raised since childhood, quickly fiddled with the door lock, and the chip sensor on the door changed from a red dot to a green one.
With a soft click, the door opened silently.
She finally understood how Chen Chao had unlocked her room.
When had this little brother learned such sneaky skills? She suddenly realized that she didn't truly know this closest of relatives.
Chen Chao led her into the room and shut the door.
From outside the door, he had already detected a human presence inside, located in the far corner of the room. The faint smell of sweat around the bed told him that the person was resting, so he could open the door calmly without worrying about being seen and exposed.
Even if he were exposed, it wouldn't pose much of a threat to him; he simply didn't want to cause unnecessary bloodshed.
They bypassed the hallway where shoes were placed and entered the room. On the large, soft bed, a burly man was lying under the covers, shivering slightly as though cold.
Chen Chao immediately smelled a repulsive odor. He whispered to Chen Shiyu, "Close your eyes and don't look."
Chen Shiyu was already shocked to see someone lying under the covers. Not understanding Chen Chao's intent, she wanted to ask, but knowing speaking would give away their position, she decided to close her eyes instead.
Chen Chao released her hand, gripping the iron rod in his hand. He approached the bed and quickly pulled the fluffy covers aside. The sight of a naked, burly man lying there, one hand gripping his genitals and the other holding a garish magazine, immediately met his eyes.
The man froze when the blanket was pulled away, then looked back to see a stranger standing at the bedside, holding an iron rod stained with rusted blood. He jumped in shock and instinctively grabbed the blanket to cover himself, yelling angrily, "Who are you, you bastard? Who allowed you to come in?... Wait, how did you get in?"
Chen Chao stared coldly at him, initially intending to torment the man, but when he saw the vile scene, he lost interest. He raised the iron rod and struck.
"Don't, stop!" the burly man screamed in fear. His gun was on the nightstand, but he had no time to reach for it, so he could only beg desperately.
Bang!
The iron rod fell mercilessly, and blood splattered across the covers.
Chen Chao wiped the rod on the covers, then turned and took Chen Shiyu's hand. "Don't look back. Let's go home."
Chen Shiyu curiously looked up at the side of his face. His cold features somehow gave her an inexplicable sense of peace. "Did you just kill that man?"
"Mm."
"Why?"
"He was the one who brought you back. The bruise on your face... he gave it to you."
"How did you know he brought me back?"
"I watched the surveillance footage."
Chen Shiyu didn't ask further questions, instead gripping his hand tightly, as though she would never let go.
...
They made their way outside. Along the way, they passed by several people, but none of them took any notice of them. This made Chen Shiyu feel a sense of disbelief. She almost wondered if Chen Chao had become the leader of these people.
At a distance, on top of a dilapidated car, Fang Xiangyu sat in a neat black dress, swinging her snowy white legs, exuding an innocent, angelic aura, like a lovely girl on a swing. Around her, three grotesque zombies stood like obedient followers, swaying gently to a nameless tune she hummed, as if listening to the teachings of a divine being in hell.
Chen Shiyu saw this peaceful, surreal scene from afar and covered her mouth in shock, afraid she might scream.
She had never seen such docile zombies before!
Chen Chao led her to Fang Xiangyu. "Let's go."
Fang Xiangyu stopped humming, and the three zombies halted their swaying, standing motionless, their hollow eyes staring at the two of them.
"Who's this?" Fang Xiangyu asked, looking curiously at Chen Shiyu.
"My sister, your master," Chen Chao answered briefly.